“Just about everyone in Gloucester and Mathews joined hundreds of millions of people all over the world on Sunday in watching what is perhaps the greatest scientific feat of the ages—man’s first walk on the surface of the moon.

“Young people and old alike have spent hours before their television sets, listening to radios and reading about it in newspapers since the drama of Apollo 11 began last Wednesday.”

So began the lead story in the July 24, 1969 issue of the Gazette-Journal, written by Annie Virginia Soles and Mary Wade Smith. The article goes on to describe the experience of many in the two counties—and across the U.S.—who watched in wonder as Neil Armstrong took that first small step (at 10:56 p.m. Sunday, Eastern Standard Time) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin joined him on the surface of the moon some 20 minutes later.

The event united a nation, as families sat in their living rooms transfixed by the black-and-white image...